Submit to the Gorillas—The 2nd Gorilla Tango Film Festival will take place Saturday, March 11, at 8 p.m. The mad programmers down at Gorilla Tango Comedy Theater are looking for films/videos of any length for inclusion in their sophomore public screening. All submissions must be sent on DVD, VHS, SVCD or VCD. There is a $10 nonrefundable submission fee per film. Submission deadline is Thursday, March 9. Prizes will be awarded to the top films as decided by a panel of local judges. For more info and a complete submission form, log on to www.gorillatango.com.

Disney adventure drama goes to the dogs

By Devin D. O'Leary

Based very loosely on a true story (not to mention the 1983 Japanese film Antarctica), the Disney adventure drama Eight Below harkens back (sort of) to the days of Disney's “True-Life Adventure” dramas--from the notorious, documentary-like White Wilderness (1958) to the Rex Allen-narrated eco-adventure Charlie the Lonesome Cougar (1967) to the fully anthropomorphized Incredible Journey (1963). Over the years, Disney has tried to replicate this old family-friendly formula with only intermittent success (1983's Never Cry Wolf, for example).

Class of 1984

By Kurly Tlapoyawa

Among the great cinematic achievements of the '50s are the mini-masterpieces known as Juvenile Delinquency films. This underappreciated genre, which includes such greats as High School Caesar and Blackboard Jungle, features slick cautionary tales of youth gone wild, warning us against the perils of drug abuse and violence. For better or worse, the '80s saw a resurgence in this genre, with offerings such as 1987's The Principal starring James Belushi. But these latter-day yarns of reactionary violence all pale in comparison to Mark L. Lester's incredible Class of 1984.

“G.I. Joe: Sigma 6”

By Devin D. O'Leary

I'm just old enough to remember the “real” G.I. Joe: a 12-inch hunk of manly vinyl complete with facial hair and kung-fu grip. In the early '80s, G.I. Joe endured a radical makeover and was transformed into a cheap, 3-inch hunk of hard plastic to coincide with a new cartoon series. Unlike much of Reagan's America, Joe not only survived his downsizing, but thrived. In the toyetic world of the '80s, G.I. Joe became a phenomenon, alongside other TV/action figure crossovers like Transformers and He-Man. To this day, I know grown men who are rabid collectors of '80s-era G.I. Joe toys and all but wept when “G.I. Joe” season one hit DVD. ... Of course, I'm one to talk. (I still have all my Micronauts--plus every issue of the Marvel comic book.)

The Week in Sloth

Thursday 16

“Smallville” (KWBQ-19 7 p.m.) Is it me, or is “Smallville” getting more ... superheroic. Not long after spin-off bait Aquaman made his bare-chested cameo on the show, comes another super-dude from the DC Comics canon: Cyborg. Could a live-action “Teen Titans” spin-off be on the way?

Friday 17

“High Hitler” (History 9 p.m.) How much did Hitler's drug addiction affect his decisions during World War II? I'm not sure, but you gotta love that title.